Name: Julie Yenichek
Position: GMR Marketing VP/Client Management
Age: 39
Where I’m from: Elmira, N.Y.
Where I call home: Cornelius, N.C.
Focusing on right now: Working with a couple of brands -- HBO College and Lowe’s -- on some projects.
 |
Yenichek puts an emphasis on thinking outside the
box
to accomplish the goals of brands
|
Best advice: I have a sign in my office that I was given, and I say this all the time: Continue to surround yourself with people that inspire you, so I have this big “inspire” sign in my office. I love it.
A must for a new hire: I think creativity is big. Also somebody that wants to learn more. I think always thinking about different and unique ways -- thinking outside the box. Thinking about different ways to accomplish the overall brand’s goal.
Exec I admire the most: I’ve been very fortunate, I have several mentors. I think that’s important. GARY REYNOLDS, who founded GMR. I was just meeting with him, and the way that he thinks and the number of different things that he has come up with throughout his career. I love to be around people like Gary.
Best book I’ve read this year: I have several different books going on right now. I’m an avid watcher of "SHARK TANK," and the show recently came out with a book “Shark Tank: Jump Start Your Business.” I’m also in the middle of "Lean In," by SHERYL SANDBERG.
First thing in the morning: Definitely checking my phone. I will do a quick scan of several different news outlets in the morning. I also have Google Alerts for some of the brands I work on just to see what’s happened with them overnight. I’m typically an early riser. So I’ll work out in the mornings at 5:30 and will turn on some news station in the car just to see what’s going on.
Talking tech: I am on Twitter but honestly just use it as an extra news feed. I really do like Facebook. During March Madness, those were really fun weeks for me on Facebook because I went to the University of Dayton. I literally thought it was a virtual college reunion. I reconnected with everybody from college -- it was really fun. I follow a lot of brands through Facebook and Twitter.
Must-have music: I’m kind of across the board. It depends who’s with me. I have a 6-year-old girl, KATIE, and an 8-year-old boy, JACK. Right now my daughter is absolutely obsessed with the movie "FROZEN," so we’re listening to a lot of Frozen music. U2 is one of my all-time favorite bands. My husband, TONY, likes a little country, so we’re all over the place.
Food for thought: We love to go out to eat. There are a number of places that we go. I’m a big fan of Mama Ricotta's. East Boulevard Bar & Grill. My dad owns a restaurant in New York, and East Boulevard really reminds me of my dad, so we like to go there sometimes. You also can’t beat Bad Daddy’s; my kids love to go there. When we’re at home, my husband is an amazing cook. I leave that to him, and my kids thank me for that all the time. My husband is so creative in the kitchen -- I have to follow a recipe.
How I unwind: I’m not sure I really do a good job at that -- I’m always going, always thinking. We love to entertain; we do that all the time. It’s constant -- whether the kids are having someone over or we’re having family over for an extended period of time. My kids right now are very into sports, so we spend a lot of time after work and on the weekends at sporting events, which is very fun. It’s just great hanging out with friends and family.
Day in the life: When working in brands, negotiations can sometimes get sideways when whoever is coming in to pitch really doesn’t understand the brand and understand the consumers, who they were or what they were passionate about. Things like that. Any time that you’re going on a pitch or doing something with a business, it’s really critical that you understand the brand and the consumer.
